Thursday, August 9, 2018

Okay, it is painfully obvious that I don't write in my blog anymore. And although I tried to reinstate the practice last year, my follow through was lousy. It is a shame. I used to enjoy recording of my industry here, even if I didn't have a large audience of readers. And as I re-read some of the past entries, I am humbled that indeed, work did get done in my studio (and rest assured, still continues to do so!).

Different platforms of social media have won over. Please visit me on Instagram (claudia.mcgehee) or Facebook (Claudia McGehee Illustration) for more current postings! And thank you for stopping by, then and now.

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

On this warm August afternoon, I am trying to keep to my "to do'" list, one being update my website! I caught up my content and decided to check out my neglected blog. Such a great place to write long, wax poetic, record observations, and share inspirations. I miss it. I'm re-dedicating to twice a week offerings, to see if posting adds to my production. The more mindful of belonging to a community of bloggers and readers, artists and learners, book lovers and creators, illustrators and writers, the more I may produce. At least I will once again have a more detailed record of my studio time. We shall see how this goes.

Back to the drawing board, today I am changing a summer scene into a fall one for a client who has a seasonal advertisement I update. It occurs to me that I like to illustrate subjects in nature best when they are currently in season. Being able to pick a coloring leaf or ripened blackberry to study makes the drawing more vibrant. Like eating fruit and veg during its real growing season just tastes better (we just had our first Iowa corn fest last night and the flavor was astounding). Not always is this practical- I've illustrated many a summer prairie for a deadline in January!- but when I can, it feels nice.

Monday, February 20, 2017

Although the finished art and final story edits whizzed off to the
printers long ago, "Creekfinding", written by my pal Jacqueline
Briggs Martin, is just starting to hit the shelves.

Holding a book you've been part of creating for the first time makes me feel
like a proud parent. An entity that came together one element at a time- word
by word, picture by picture, page by page- is now whole.

The magic of a picture book lies in its joint creation. From separate wells of
creativity, the author and illustrator create in a wondrously woven process.
One person's work does not exist without the others and yet, together a story
is born.. . I love how enthusiastic readers confirm a successful match!

The Australian Children's Book of the Year Award Committee
annually honors author and illustrator jointly for one single
book: “The award [is] made to outstanding books of the Picture Book genre
in which the author and illustrator achieve artistic andliterary unity..."

I love this. “Literary Unity” is a good way to put what most
picture book teams aspire towards (and somewhat easier to achieve when you are
both author/illustrator!). If a picture book has a different author and
illustrator, the process is more complex, yet rich and rewarding. The words do
come first, but as smooth as a baton exchange in a foot race, the story then
transfers and expands from the words to the pictures. In the
end, good words and good pictures should tell a story that comes together
harmoniously over the finish line.

A picture book manuscript may take years on and off to write, but
the illustrator lives quite intensely, immersed for many consecutive months
producing the pictures. The amount of detail to the story-line decided by an
illustrator (visual setting and character placements, pacing, actual page
lay-out ) is it’s own act of creation. I can attest that when the illustrations
are complete, the parental feeling about the story is as strong for the
illustrator as it is for the writer.

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So happy birthday to our book, word by word, picture by picture,
page by page.

About Me

ILLUSTRATION FOR ALL SEASONS

I'm an Illustrator-Writer living in a tallgrass prairie state (although Pacific salt water still runs through my veins.) I find inspirations around every corner. Some days I write about pictures. Some days I draw about words. It's all in telling the story.